New BRIDGE Activities in Asia-Pacific and Latin America

WIN is expanding its BRIDGE program with new capacity-building activities in Asia-Pacific and Latin America in July and August, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening independent music businesses and bridging the digital divide around the world.

Asia-Pacific: Indie-Con Australia

WIN’s Community & Projects Manager, Nerea Serrano, will travel to Indie-Con Australia, the conference organized by the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), taking place in Adelaide from July 29-31. WIN network representatives David Barnes (Rhymesayers Entertainment, USA), Eva Karman (SOM, Sweden), Ian Harrison (A2IM, USA), Jason Peterson (GoDigital Media Group), Larry Bringsjord (FONO, Norway), and Lisa Hresko (A2IM) will join members of the APAC Alliance in Australia’s independent music annual gathering.

On Friday, July 31, WIN will host two BRIDGE activities: a regional working group meeting and panel discussion. The APAC Alliance will meet at the Sofitel hotel, bringing together representatives from India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and host country Australia. The “Spotlight on Asia” panel will take place at the Mercury Cinema, moderated by Serrano and featuring Marty Ro (Sound Republica/LIAK, South Korea), Takuya Yamazaki (IMCJ, Japan), Sridhar Swaminathan (SIMCA, India), Sher Muhammad (PUMPA, Pakistan), and Yang Y. (AMIF, China).

Participants will also attend A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition on July 29 and the AIR Awards at Adelaide Town Hall on July 30.

Latin America: Ecuador and Panama

WIN CEO Noemí Planas will travel to Ecuador to lead a workshop on July 30 titled “Unidos somos más fuertes: redes nacionales e internacionales para empoderar al sector musical independiente” (“United We Are Stronger: National and International Networks to Empower the Independent Music Sector”). The workshop is organized by Ecuador’s Instituto de Fomento de las Artes, Innovación y Creatividades (IFAIC) as part of the “Puentes: aprende y conecta” continued education program and will take place at the Auditorio de Biblioteca Nacional de Eugenio Espejo in Quito. This marks Planas’s second visit to the country, following a 2023 trip as part of the Andean Community’s Independents Forum (FICA).

Planas will then travel to Panama City for Centroamérica Mercado Musical (CAMM), taking place August 6-8, where she will be joined by Sonia Durán (UFi, Spain). CAMM is a music industry market created to strengthen and energize the music ecosystem of the countries that make up Central America, rotating annually between Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.

The trip marks WIN’s first official visit to Central America. Durán, representing UFi and Sounds from Spain, will join Planas for a workshop on August 8 at the Museo del Canal, designed to help local independent labels understand the strategic value of collective association and why joining forces, both nationally and internationally, strengthens their position with governments, digital platforms, and other stakeholders.

They will also attend CAMM’s opening ceremony on August 6 at Teatro Amador and the b2b meetings and panel discussions at the main conference venue, as well as the evening showcases at Rock and Folk.

The BRIDGE activities in Australia, Ecuador and Panama are supported by Merlin and organized in collaboration with AIR, IFAIC, and CAMM, respectively.

ABOUT BRIDGE
BRIDGE is a capacity-building and professional development project developed by WIN to address the digital gap and empower the independent music ecosystem in markets across Asia, Latin America, and Africa. BRIDGE aims to foster collaboration, share best practices and resources, and build the skills independents need to thrive in the digital landscape. winformusic.org/bridge